AB1171 PERSISTENT POST-DISCHARGE SYMPTOMS AFTER COVID-19 IN RHEUMATIC AND MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES
Authors: I. Perez-Sancristobal, L. León, M. P. Álvarez Hernandez, A. Madrid García, L. Lopez Pedraza, J. I. Colomer, S. Lerma Lara, P. Lois, A. Mucientes, L. Rodriguez Rodriguez, B. Fernandez, L. Abasolo
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2022)

Background The COVID-19 pandemic continues worldwide and has had a strong impact on public health. As the pandemic evolves, efforts have been intensified to identify persistent symptoms associated with the infection once resolved have intensified. Objectives We aimed to describe persistent symptoms and sequelae in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) after admission due to Covid-19. We also compared the role of autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) with that of non–autoimmune rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (NARD) in persistent symptoms and sequelae. Methods We performed an observational study of patients with RMD who attended a rheumatology outpatient clinic in Madrid and required admission to hospital due to Covid-19 (1st March-30th May 2020) and survived. The study began at discharge and ran until 1st October 2020. The main outcomes were persistence of symptoms and sequelae related to Covid19. The independent variable was the RMD group (ARD and NARD). The covariates were sociodemographic data, clinical findings, and treatment. We ran a multivariate logistic regression model to assess the risk of the main outcomes by RMD group. Results We included 105 patients, of whom 51.5% had ARD and 68.57% reported at least 1 persistent symptom. The most frequent were dyspnea, fatigue, and chest pain. Sequelae were recorded in 31 patients. These included lung damage in 10.4% of patients, lymphopenia in 10%, central retinal vein occlusion (1 patient), and optic neuritis (1 patient). Two patients died. Eleven patients required readmission owing to Covid-19 problems (16.7% ARD vs 3.9% NARD; p=0.053). No statistically significant differences were found between RMD groups in the final models. Conclusion Many RMD patients have persistent symptoms, as in other populations. Lung damage is the most frequent sequela. Compared to NARD patients, ARD patients do not seem to differ in terms of persistent symptoms or sequelae, although ARD patients might generate more readmissions due to Covid-19. References [1]Zheng Z, Peng F, Xu B, Zhao J, Liu H, Peng J, et al. Risk factors of critical &amp; mortal COVID-19 cases: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. J Infect. 2020; 81 (2):e16–25 [2]Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, Zhu F, Liu X, Zhang J, et al. Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients with 2019 Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA -J Am Med Assoc. 2020; 323 (11):1061–9 [3]Jiang F, Deng L, Zhang L, Cai Y, Cheung CW, Xia Z. Review of the Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). J Gen Intern Med. 2020; 35 (5):1545–9. [4]Sung HK, Kim JY, Heo J, Seo H, Jang Y, Kim H, et al. Clinical Course and Outcomes of 3, 060 Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Korea, January – May 2020. 2020; 35 (30):1–11. [5]Freites Nuñez DD, Leon L, Mucientes A, Rodriguez-Rodriguez L, Font Urgelles J, Madrid García A, et al. Risk factors for hospital admissions related to COVID-19 in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020; 79 (11):1393–9. Disclosure of Interests None declared